Ten

While all kinds of drama was going on in New York, Mia was living it up twenty-five hundred miles away in Las Vegas. Although Nico wasn’t with her to help her enjoy the good life, that didn’t stop her. If she wasn’t at the Encore spa getting a massage, she was at the Wynn spa getting a manicure and a pedicure. And when she wasn’t pampering herself at the various spas, she was splurging on herself inside Alexander McQueen or buying a dress from the Chanel store. Between spending time at the Hermes, Dior, Graff Diamonds, and Louis Vuitton stores, Mia was in heaven and felt like a walking orgasm.

There was so much to do to keep her busy, she actually thought it was a blessing in disguise that Nico had flown back to New York because she knew all he would have wanted to do was gamble and fuck.

Mia had a slew of fine dining choices to choose from, and she made sure that she ate well for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She did it all. All except for the nightclubs on the resort. She wasn’t in the mood to get hit on by anyone. She also didn’t trust herself anymore when she drank in public. The last thing she wanted was to have a repeat of what happened to her when she flew to Miami and ended up getting drunk and fucking a friend of her arch nemesis, Jasmine.

***

The doctor acknowledged the police officer who stood guard outside Jasmine’s hospital room. He walked up to her bed, where her mom stood on one side and her father on the other.

Jasmine’s parents were grateful she was alive, but they were angry with her for putting herself in that position where she’d almost been killed. And they were even angrier with her for resisting their demands that she leave Nico alone for good.

“Jasmine, you heard what the doctor said,” her father reminded her. “You were a fraction of a centimeter away from having that bullet pierce your jugular vein, and then what? We wouldn’t be standing here talking to you right now.”

The doctor patiently waited for an opening to interject.

“But I’m okay!” Jasmine stressed.

As it turned out, Jasmine was extremely lucky. The bullet that had hit her in the neck had actually been more of a deep graze wound. But the bullet had managed to tear off a large piece of flesh from the right side of her neck.

Jasmine’s mom and dad were taking turns tag-teaming her while also bashing Nico.

Thankfully for Jasmine, her doctor stepped in. “Excuse me. If I may just interrupt,” he respectfully said.

“Sure, sure,” Jasmine’s father stepped to the side to allow the doctor to get closer to Jasmine.

“I know this is an extremely emotional and traumatic thing that you all have experienced as a family. And although Jasmine’s condition had been upgraded to stable, it’s important that she gets her rest. The more she can relax without dealing with anything emotional, then the quicker she will return back to normal.”

“Thank you for saying that. Now, Mom and Dad, stop stressing me!”

Powerless, Jasmine’s mother and father looked at each other. There was an awkward silence in the room.

The doctor tried to put everyone at ease. “So, does anyone have any medical questions for me?”

“Yeah. When can I go home?’ Jasmine asked.

The doctor smiled. “We’re doing our best to get you home as soon as possible.”

Jasmine’s mother shook her head. She asked the doctor if the surgery was still planned for the next day, and if he could re-explain what the surgery entailed.

“Yes, the surgery is still on for tomorrow morning. And what we are going to do is repair Jasmine’s deep ulnar branch.”

Her mom asked, “And what is that again?”

“Well, there are two main arteries that enter the hand—the radial artery and the ulnar artery. You can think about those two arteries as being the trunk of the tree, so to speak. And then think of two big tree branches that grow out of the trunk of the tree. We have to repair that branch that grows out of that main tree trunk.”

Jasmine’s father nodded his head to tell the doctor that he understood.

Her mother said, “And, if I understand correctly, that branch that you are going to operate on, it also has other smaller branches that stem off of it?”

“You got it.” The doctor smiled. “You should have gone to medical school,” he joked.

“So is that the only purpose of the surgery?’

“Ugggghh!” Jasmine sighed in disgust. “Ma, what’s with all these questions? He’s Chinese, so you know he’s smart. I’ll be fine. Goodness!”

Jasmine’s mother was embarrassed, but the doctor smiled. He didn’t take offense to what Jasmine had said.

“Yes, that is the only reason for the surgery, and after the surgery, of course, we will have to have a splint for about two to four weeks for the bone fracture in her hand to properly heal.”

Jasmine shook her head. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“I been worried about how everything is going to heal, and I was thinking that what I’ll do is just get a tattoo on my hand and on my neck to cover the scars and I—”

“Oh, Lord Jesus, help me!” Jasmine’s mother screamed out loud, her right hand held to the sky.

“And I just want to know how soon would I be able to get a tattoo?”

Her father said, “Jasmine, if you get a tattoo on your neck, you better never step foot in my house again! And I mean that.”

The doctor didn’t know how to respond, but he wanted to remain neutral.

“Well, why don’t we take things one step at a time? Let’s deal with the surgery first and seeing how quickly we can get you back home and back to normal.”

“I feel fine now. I’m ready to leave.”

The doctor smiled. “You know, many times people hear about gunshot wounds to the leg or to the arm or to the hand, and they dismiss it as being not that serious. But just as in your case, Jasmine, very often major arteries are impacted, and that is what makes the wounds life-threatening. Never forget just how fortunate you were to be able to get medical attention as soon as you did, because there is always the possibility of losing too much blood to the point where it becomes fatal.”

“Lord knows I pray for this child every day,” Jasmine’s mother said. “Can’t nobody tell me the Lord doesn’t answer prayers.”

Jasmine remained quiet, but she was disgusted that she hadn’t yet heard from Nico. She was starting to resent him. She also began to wonder if it was he was the one who sent Bebo to kill her. She desperately wanted to speak to him just to see where his head was at.

The doctor and Jasmine’s parents left, leaving her alone with her thoughts. The only conclusion she could come to was, after she had gotten arrested, Nico must have figured she was talking to the police—that she had told them he was a co-conspirator in Shabazz’s murder.

That’s why he wants me dead, Jasmine thought.

Jasmine was human, and she couldn’t help but wonder if Mia was somehow starting to work her way back into Nico’s life and reclaim her wifey status.

Oh, my God! I gotta get out of here! she said to herself in a panic.

Her mind was playing all kinds of tricks on her. One moment her mind was telling her that Nico loved her, the next moment Nico had sent Bebo to murder her. Another moment her mind was telling her to just relax, that Nico was just dealing with a lot and that he would explain everything to her as soon as he could. But then again, she kept thinking that Nico was back to fucking Mia.

Jasmine was beyond stressed out. She took a painkiller, which made her feel euphoric, but that soon wore off. She fell asleep wondering if she would wake up and see Nico the next day.